Senate rejects plan for Arctic oil drilling

WASHINGTON — Siding with environmentalists, the Senate voted overwhelmingly Thursday against President Bush's proposal to allow drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The vote was 54-46, leaving Republicans 14 votes shy of the 60 needed to end a Democratic filibuster and allow a vote on a drilling amendment to the Senate energy bill. Eight Republicans, including Illinois Sen. Peter Fitzgerald, broke ranks to side with most Democrats in rejecting exploration in the Alaskan refuge.

"This isn't over," vowed Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), who pushed for drilling in the refuge. "We are going to persist and insist this issue come up again and again."

The House approved drilling for oil and gas in the wildlife refuge on Alaska's Arctic coast last summer as part of its energy measure. The Senate energy bill could come up for a vote as early as next week, but the Alaskan drilling issue could cause gridlock when differences between the House and Senate bills are negotiated in a conference committee.

At the White House, spokesman Ari Fleischer expressed disappointment that the president's proposal did not survive the Senate.

"At a time when oil and gas prices are rising, the Senate today missed an opportunity to lead America to greater energy independence," Fleischer said.

That argument did not work, and the president's domestic agenda suffered another defeat on Capitol Hill. With the exception of an education bill and a tax-cut plan enacted last year, Bush's legislative proposals have stalled as he pursues the war on terrorism.

Opponents of the drilling plan were exultant over their victory.

"As the saying goes, how sweet it is!" said Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), who helped lead the opposition.

Bush's pursuit of energy independence has been the subject of debate in the Senate.

Drilling supporters contended the oil is essential for America's energy security with a crisis in the Middle East and rising prices at the gas pump. They also said production of the oil would lead to tens of thousands of jobs.

"One can only wonder what the OPEC cartel is thinking today," muttered drilling supporter Sen. Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska) after the vote.

But Democrats said there is too little oil in the refuge to substantially increase domestic supply or reduce the need for foreign imports. The oil would not begin flowing for at least a decade, and they said it would have little impact on fuel prices.

Environmental groups also argued that the Alaskan coastal plain of the refuge is a national treasure, where polar bears, wolves and caribou roam and should not be disturbed.

Bush and the Republicans, however, said drilling and oil production could be done in an environmentally sensitive manner in just 2,000 acres of the 19 million-acre preserve.

Alaska senators thwarted

Although it had been clear for days that the Alaska senators did not have the votes to add refuge drilling to the Senate energy bill, the drama surrounding the debate was substantial.

Eskimo supporters on each side of the issue roamed the Capitol, buttonholing senators. So did officials from the Teamsters and other unions who viewed the project as a wellspring of jobs for their members. The League of Conservation Voters announced that the vote would count double when they tally up scores at the end of the year indicating senators' efforts to help the environment.

Stevens tried to gain votes for drilling by promising financial aid for steelworkers and coal miners from future Arctic oil leases. That was rejected 64-36.

Politics was never far from the policy debate, with both sides insisting the issue would be integral to this year's midterm elections.

"We're not going to allow Republicans to destroy our environment," said Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.). "I think it's fair to say that as long as the Democrats are in control of the Senate, it won't happen."

Not surprisingly, Murkowski drew a different lesson from the vote.

"What it proved today is we need more Republicans in the United States Senate," he said.

But while Bush and the Republicans lost a high-profile issue on the Senate's energy bill, the Democrats have also lost one of their cherished proposals for the legislation. The Senate recently voted against increasing fuel efficiency standards for automobiles.

The Sierra Club praised the Senate for rejecting drilling in the refuge, but it said the Senate's energy bill fails to provide a plan for meeting America's energy needs.

"Polluters have plundered the bill, removing the oil-saving fuel economy measures and weighing it down with giveaways to the energy industry," said Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club.

Not everyone appreciated the environmentalists' efforts to prevent oil drilling.

`We need the jobs'

Brenda IttaLee, an Inupiat Eskimo who lives in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, said environmentalists who have never been to the refuge are talking as if they represent her views and the views of other Eskimos.